Tax Return = All Systems Go!

Jessica was finally able to access her W-2 online earlier this week and finish filing taxes; this means that once we receive our refund, we can start demolition on the bathroom!

Our Sunday School pastor gave us the name and number for a reliable plumber, so we'll probably be calling him the beginning of next week to discuss our questions/ask for a quote for doing some pipe changes for the toilet and shower.

This weekend we're thinking of beginning to sand down the vanity; even though its installation will be further in the process of the remodel, we figure it's a good idea to start the sanding and re-staining now, since it will have to be done, and we don't have any other things taking up our time or energy yet.

Also, next week is spring break for the majority of the kids at Tutoring Club, so Jessica will probably start moving our bedroom stuff to the 2nd bedroom for us to 'live in' until the bathroom is finished.

Sorry we don't have pictures to post. Once we start sanding and demolition we'll have something to show.

As of March 21

So far, we've made pretty good progress on the bathroom regarding our overall plan for what it will look like, projected cost, and how we will do everything.

Below are pictures of the bathroom NOW; once we start demolition, it'll be unrecognizable!

View from our bedroom, into the bathroomRight inside the bathroom, to the left

Right inside the bathroom, to the right

At the far wall in the back

We looked for a vanity on craigslist, and found this 74" for just $80! We removed the countertop and sinks, as we plan on doing a totally different look. We also have the 3 drawers for the middle, not pictured here. We will sand the whole piece of furniture, and re-stain it.


Today we went down to the Habitat for Humanity Home Improvement Outlet in Seattle (thanks to Phil & Hannah for the recommendation!) and bought tile. It will now sit in the garage until it is needed! We were originally going to just see what they had, but didn't want to miss out on buying this tile that we liked. We would show you what the tile actually looks like, but what would be the surprise in that?

Our next (technically first) step, however, before this project really gets underway, is to talk to a plumber about our plans. The next step would be getting our tax refund so that we can actively start demolition without the worry of starting a project that we can't afford to finish!

We'll update as often as we have news (maybe about once a week or so).

Beginning the Blog

We've decided to start blogging our adventures in house projects, partly as a record for ourselves, as well as a way for family and friends to keep up with what we're doing. After painting our bedroom, digging/building a retaining wall in the backyard, redoing the second bedroom & bath, creating ceiling storage in the garage, as well as replacing the kitchen/garage door, we've decided that it's about time we just posted everything in one easy-to-access place.

So please join us as we embark on our newest, and boldest, adventure yet - our master bath remodel!